Plants Under Attack Can Turn Hungry Caterpillars Into Cannibals
Monday, July 10, 2017 - 11:52
in Biology & Nature
When does a (typically) vegetarian caterpillar become a cannibalistic caterpillar, even when there is still plenty of plant left to eat? When the tomato plant it's feeding on makes cannibalism the best option. "It often starts with one caterpillar biting another one in the rear, which then oozes. And it goes downhill from there," says University of Wisconsin-Madison integrated biology Professor John Orrock.